Seeing
past race. The politics of the Human Rights Commission inquiry into racial
representation in post-Apartheid South Africa. Paper
presented at PennState University by
Guy Berger, 12 March 2001

In
South Africa's transition from apartheid, the country's Human Rights Commission
Inquiry into racism in the media serves as an index of racial identity and
racial representation in that changing country. Race factors played an important
part in determining responses to the Inquiry, which entailed significant re-racializations
of identities. The process ensured that racial identity in journalism was
put on the agenda, and that the representation of race in the media became
a subject of debate and scrutiny. , By revealing the constructed political
nature of such identities, the Inquiry could assist in further transition
away from the legacy of Apartheid